Lost Souls
by Ultimater990
Summary: This story is thanks to ShiroHollow96. Aizen Souske manages to escape in the following battle, bringing Ichigo and Grimmjow into another dimension. What will happen to them, along with their loved ones?
1. Prologue

Prolouge 

_Where am I?_

The boy looked around a lush forest, standing in front of a mansion.

"So, I take it that you are confused."

He looked at a man with a black coat. "You are a nobody. A person who does not exist. Do you want a name?"

The man pondered for a minute. "I will call you...Roxas." He chuckled. "I will teleport you to our base...now."

Roxas disappeared into a dark portal. "Soon, I will meet that boy..." The man smiled. "I wonder if this nobody will regain his memories...but I highly doubt that."

The man looked at the mansion, smiling. "All I need to do is to get that man to bring me him. Aizen Souske...for your sake, you better be right." The man vanished into the air, content in fighting the keyblade wielder...and securing the power needed to get kingdom hearts.


	2. Ichigo

Ichigo

"Aaaaugh!"

Aizen Souske was split in half. Unable to move, he collapsed. A older teen watched him, smiling.

"It is over..." Ichigo Kurosaki put his hands down, landing on the ground. He looked around him, seeing the massive change in landscape. "Man, this place won't be the same, will it?"

It was only half a year, but he felt different now. He became a Soul Reaper, fighting evil spirits and saving others from wandering the world. His home town attracted such things. The only reason he became so is because of the man split in half.

Aizen Souske wanted to test Ichigo's power, so he manipulated aspects of his life to do so. He "sent" Rukia Kuchiki, another Soul Reaper, to give Ichigo a way to release his latent powers that he had from his father - oh, his father was a Soul Reaper. What a plot twist, huh?

Anyways, Ichigo could not believe that Aizen did this. Still, he took in satisfaction that his powers have ended his reign.

Of course, there was something that went wrong. Ichigo activated the Final GetsugaTensho, a power that turned him into a power incarnate of his sword. It was suppose to be "final" since it takes all of the spiritual power away, but he did not feel it going away.

"What is going on...?" asked Ichigo.

"It worked." Aizen came back in one whole piece, laughing. "You think that you have won?!"

"Ichigo!"

He turned around, shocked at what he is seeing. A man with blue hair and claws appeared. "Grimmjow?"

"Hmph...can't believe that you changed. Anyways, Aizen is going to-"

"Too late!" Aizen laughed, revealing a light that encompasses the two warriors.

_What...is this... _Ichigo felt lost, unable to think.

"No! Ichigo!" Grimmjow tried to reach for his hand, but he was swept out, into the portal.

"Damn you, Aizen..." Ichigo hit Aizen once more, causing the man to cry out loud.

"AUGHH!" yelled Aizen. Ichigo realized that Aizen must be sensitive to wounds, but it was too late. He was swept out, thinking...

_What...is happening to me?_

The portal closed, leaving a damaged landscape.


	3. Aixzen

Aixzen

"I've got them."

Xemnas turned around. There sat Aizen, smiling, as he held Ichigo and Grimmjow.

"I cannot believe you." Xemnas smiled. "You finished your job?"

"Hard, to say the least, but..." Aizen looked at Ichigo. "I have the boy. What do you want to do with him?"

"I need his powers...did you erase his memories?"

"Yes. What do you want to do with Grimmjow, Aixzen?"

Xemnas smiled. "So, you know..." Suddenly, he puts his left hand on his face, filling it with light. Then, he pulled his hand away, revealing his face.

"I take it that you aren't surprised." Aixzen commented. "You saw through me. Then again, you are me."

"Why are you here?"

"I want to make sure that you did your job. Xemnas found Sora's nobody, and now the games begin."

"I can't believe that you, out of all people..." Aizen's teeth clenched in anger.

"Well, you should never be surprised." Aixzen smiled. "Alikes behave similarly. I have both of you in my puppet string, dancing-"

"Good for you." Aizen sighed. "Anyways, what do we do with Grimmjow?"

"Throw him into the portal." Aixzen smiled, putting his hand up. A purple portal opened up. Aizen threw Grimmjow into the portal. Instantly, it closed, absorbing him in.

"So, what else do I have to do?" asked Aizen.

"Watch over Sora and make sure that he follows through the castle..."

Aizen nodded, walking off. Aixzen smiled, looking in the sky at the stars.

"All of you will see...extermination."


	4. Revival

Revival

"Wake up."

Grimmjow woke up, scanning the room. He stared into the darkness, seeing nothing.

"You can't see well. You were almost dissolved into the darkness."

"I was...?" Grimmjow, alarmed, stood up. "Ichigo! What happened to him?! AND AIZEN?!"

"Explain it to me-"

"Where are you?!"

From the darkness came a man in red clothing. He had dark skin, and his golden eyes dug into Grimmjow.

"I am here. Don't worry, you are fine. I'm sorry for nearly messing with you, arrancar."

"You know who I am?!"

"Yes..." The man stared at him. "I am a being of darkness. i want revenge on the nobody that works with Aizen. I can give you power..."

"At what cost?! You think that I am going to fall for some trap again?!"

"There is one cost of this power. You must help me in my quest to fight against Organization XIII. An organization filled with beings of-"

"Look, I'll get the textbook out later. Give me power and I will help you."

"I like someone who is willing to help without knowing a whole lot." The man closed his eyes for a moment. "You should know...Ichigo Kurosaki has lost his memories because of Aizen. You can't fight him as he is now..."

"So I have to gain powers, then fight him?"

"Yes...I'll show you how."

The darkness cleared up, revealing a lab. Cylinders with liquids in them surrounded Grimmjow.

"You put your body in the sleep canister," explained the man. "As you do so, I can tap into your powers and increase them. I might add a few twists and turns, but you will be more stronger than ever."

"What happens to me in the canister?"

"You dream of the past. You will be safe inside the canister, don't worry. I will secure your memories with the machine programming the canister."

The man walked towards the arrancar. "I will give you a choice. Help me fight the organization, or I can return you to your world, where you can live until the darkness devours your world and your heart."

"I get my heart...but what do you mean by the world?"

"The worlds all have hearts. They can be destroyed, and once that happens, the worlds all die."

Grimmjow had only a small understanding of what the man was saying, but he knew that bad things will happen if this "heart" of the world is destroyed. "I'll do it. How long will I be asleep?"

"For some time. I will awake you when you seem more powerful."

Grimmjow walked to the canister, but not before turning towards the man. "Who are you?"

"I am Diz. Now, sleep, arrancar, and I will see you later."


	5. New Beginning

New Beginning

"Welcome, Kurosaki Ichigo."

He opened his eyes. Xemnas was upon a high chair with twelve other warriors. "You are now a member of Organization XIII. You are different from the rest of us, you see...we are beings that once had hearts, but now we are just shells..."

Ichigo looked around, noticing that the other members were looking at him with amusement, except for the boy with the blue eyes.

"As you can tell, you have a heart. You can feel your emotions and act more human than the rest of us. You are extremely important to us since you have useful powers."

Ichigo looked at his blade. It was huge, black and silver, and radiated power. Was this what Xemnas was talking about?

Xemnas smiled. "You will understand soon. For now, there is another member to greet. Come here, Xion."

A person covered in a dark robe appeared. "She is the fourteenth member of the organization. Welcome to the organization, Xion."

The person was motionless. Xemnas smiled again, and then straightened his posture.

"Now, we will proceed with operations. Our new members will be trained by some of the older members, while the rest of you will continue doing what you were doing before."

The members teleported, while Ichigo, Xion, the boy with the blue eyes, and a man with red hair stayed.

"Well, time to greet you!" The man with the red hair came down with the boy, landing in front of them. "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

"Ummm...sure?" answered Ichigo.

"Well! Xemnas was right, you do have a heart! This boy here is Roxas, the keyblade's chosen one!"

"Axel..." Roxas looked unenthusiastic.

"C'mon, don't be a downer! You guys come with me to Twilight town, and I will show you one of our main areas where you will train!"

Axel snapped, opening a portal. "Let's go and discuss the new beginning of Organization XIII!"


	6. To Be Special

To Be Special

Axel showed his new recruits how to fight. Xion stayed silent, watching him with curiosity. Roxas used his keyblade to destroy heartless, while Ichigo practiced sword fighting.

"Well, I can see why Xemnas likes you," said Axel. "You have potential to outdo Xemnas, Ichigo."

"Why am I different from all of you guys?" asked Ichigo.

"Well, you have a heart. You also have a zanpaktou, a special weapon that can also collect hearts for Kingdom Hearts. How does it feel to be special?"

"Depends on what angle you take it," said Roxas, who finished killing all of the heartless. "I don't like the work, but I want to feel important."

"I don't feel different," said Ichigo. "I just do what I do."

"I hear ya," said Axel. "Hey, now that the heartless are down, how about we get some ice cream?"

The four headed out to a ice cream vendor, getting the blue ice cream that tasted salty and sweet. They headed to the clocktower, sitting high on top.

"This is my spot, you dig?" Axel looked at the sunset. "The scenery is nice, and the ice cream is good. We should do this more often!"

"Yeah!" Roxas looked at the sunset, smiling. Xion remained silent, nodding her head.

"Well, we have to get going." Axel teleported everyone back to base. They all went back to their rooms, expect for Ichigo, who went outside. Saix was there, staring at Ichigo.

"Good. You're here. There is a new base that Organization XIII is going to use," he said. "I want you to go with Axel."

Ichigo was surprised. Saix noticed this and said, "You are adept enough to go with him. Axel will watch your progress, so do not do anything unless it is of his command."

Saix walked towards the recreational room, but not before he saw Axel. "Well, Isa, what are you doing here?"

"I was going to make sure that everything is clean. Anyways, I am going to send Ichigo to Castle Oblivion under your care."

"Say what?" said Axel. "Why?"

"It seems that you know who he is," said Saix. "Anyways, I want to see how he performs against the keyblade wielder." Saix got closer to Axel until he was next to him. "I believe that our organization has traitors too. Flush them out."

"Wait...how do you know that they are traitors?"

"We know." Saix stared at Axel. "Will you be able to carry out this mission?"

"Sure thing, Isa." Axel smiled, then headed to his room.


	7. Castle Oblivion

Castle Oblivion

"You are ready to go, Ichigo?"

Axel carried his bag, waiting for the orange haired teenager to answer his question. Ichigo was ready to go too, holding a traveling bag.

"Yeah. How far is the place?"

"We aren't traveling through the conventional way," said Axel. "We are going through a portal of darkness. We will be there in an instant."

"Wha-" Before Ichigo could move, Axel snapped his fingers. A portal of darkness opened, and without hesitation, Axel ran to the portal. Ichigo followed hesitantly, as if wary of the red haired man's intentions. Before Ichigo knew it, he found himself in a white room.

He was not alone. A man with pink hair appeared next to him.

"Hello there, Ichigo. I am Marluxia, the man responsible for this castle." He smiled, with petals surrounding him. Axel appeared, looking bored.

"So, Marluxia, what is the mission?" asked Ichigo.

"Well, first off, we have to test the keyblade wielder and see if his power can help us. Next, we have to collect data on the boy and his memories, since it could hold the key to nobodies being human."

Ichigo looked confused. Axel explained, "Well, as you might have learned, there are heartless and nobodies. This kid turned into a heartless, but ended up turning back into a human. The-"

"That's enough, Axel." Marluxia looked tense, and Axel silenced himself. Ichigo, however, was able to put the pieces together.

"So, Roxas is..."

"Well, quite clever!" A girl's voice appeared from no where. She entered, smiling as lightning surrounded her.

"So, Larxene, you decided to come along?" said Axel.

"Don't you start," retorted Larxene. "Anyways, the other three are down in the basement."

"Excellent." Marluxia smiled. "Anyways, Ichigo, as you can tell, Roxas has barely any memories of Sora. I believe that Sora's time as a heartless is the reason for this. So now, we need to experiment with him."

"How do you experiment with memories?" asked Ichigo.

"Well..." Axel pointed to a desk. Ichigo was surprised, having never seen the desk in the room. There was a girl, dressed in white, with a notebook and crayons.

"She is Namine. A nobody that can manipulate memories."

"With crayons?" asked Ichigo.

"That seems to be her favorite way of doing it," said Larxene.

Ichigo was tempted to greet her, but before he can do so, Larxene pointed her finger at him.

"I still don't see how you could be powerful at all. You act like a clown, and you-"

"Settle down, Larxene." Marluxia moved her finger away from Ichigo. "If you want to see proof of his fighting skills, we will test it later. Anyways, we have to do other things, remember?"

Larxene nodded, glaring at Ichigo. Ichigo remained calm, not caring about the situation at all. She and Marluxia left, leaving Axel and Ichigo.

"Sorry about Larxene...she's just pretentious."

"Is she in love with Marluxia?"

Axel was taken back by Ichigo's words. Namine, startled, stared at Ichigo.

"What are you saying? Nobodies don't have feelings-"

"Then explain how she is pretentious."

Axel smiled, realizing that Ichigo had a point. "Well, maybe. Look, I need to talk to you about something else."

"What else is there to this mission?" asked Ichigo.

"You see, Xemnas used to be a researcher. Before that, though, he did not remember who he was."

"He had amnesia?" asked Ichigo.

"Yes. Anyways, there is a room here that he is searching for. In case you find it, go straight to Xemnas."

"Ok."

"Now, you want to drink something and enjoy a game of card?"

"Sure...but, do you mind if-"

"If we play with Namine?" Axel smiled, holding a pack of cards. "Well, why not?"

Namine looked down until Ichigo approached her. "Hello, my name is Ichigo. How do you do?"

"Fine." She looked sad, but lightened up as Ichigo and Axel sat next to her.

"Time to play poker!"

"We had poker chips?!"

"You have cash?! You know what, never mind. Namine has no money."

The three played the game, laughing as it progressed. As the game was at its climax, Larxene interrupted by destroying the drinks.

"Hey!" Axel got up, pissed that his drinks were gone.

"You can't play with the witch!" cried Larxene. Namine put her head down. Ichigo felt anger rise up in him.

"Take that back."

"Oh?" Larxene stared down Ichigo until Marluxia appeared. "Larxene, not now."

Again, Larxene backed off. She left with Marluxia, leaving Ichigo and Axel.

"Poor girl, right?" said Axel. "C'mon, we have to go set our rooms up."

Axel carried his bag and left. Ichigo looked at Namine one more time before heading to his room, feeling guilt for what he didn't do.


	8. Sora is important

Sora is important

"Hey, Ichigo!"

The soul reaper woke up to the sound. Axel nudged him.

"Time for the big-"

"WHAT THE HELL!" Ichigo hit Axel in the face, pushing him back. Axel landed on the floor, laughing.

"Sorry, I had to see your reaction. Anyways, we have to meet with a few of our other members in the basement."

"Ohhh..." Ichigo wiped his eyes. "So, I assume that Marluxia would flay us if we went to the basement without him knowing."

"What a vivid imagination...but yeah, he would be uncomfortable with us going down there. So, do you want to come with me?"

Ichigo nodded, grabbing his swords. "Just in case," he muttered.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go!" Axel and Ichigo sneaked their way into the basement. Ichigo noticed some men working on a schedule.

"I will do the cooking, and you handle the garbage, Lexeaus," said the white haired man.

"Why me, Vexen?! EVERY TIME!"

"Calm down, Lexeaus." Zexion, the blue haired man looked at the big man. "We are being rude to our guests."

"Our-WHAT?!" Vexen croaked, having seen the two visitors show up.

"Hello." Ichigo looked at the schedule. It appears that Vexen does the shopping, Zexion does the accounting, and Lexeaus does all of the work.

"As you can see, we are planning for the week ahead," said Vexen. "The keyblade wielder approaches."

"Another keyblade wielder?" asked Ichigo.

"Yes. What makes him special, right?"

"Wait, I didn't-"

Vexen laughed. "Don't be sorry. I know what you meant. Still, what makes him special? He turned into a heartless and back into a human."

"Whoa." Ichigo widened his eyes.

"Yes. You can see how we need to see what makes him special. Marluxia is attracting Sora to this castle right now. Soon, he and his friends will show up."

"Okay..." Ichigo understood what he was saying, but he did not get what he was hinting towards.

"You see, this castle is special. It can manipulate memories. This castle is our new hideout to do research on the mind."

"Is that why Namine is referred to as a witch?" Ichigo began to piece together Larxene's words and her attitude to the girl.

"Yeah." Axel spoke for the first time since arriving in the basement. "She has the power to make these memories into whatever she draws." Then, Axel edges closer to Ichigo. "So...are you falling in love with Namine?"

"No!"

"Awww..."Zexion smiled. "You have gotten feelings for the nobody."

"You guys, lay off him," said Lexeaus. "We have to concentrate on Sora. He will arrive within the next day."

"Yeah, I have been meaning to ask, but..." Axel looked around. "Does someone have the time?"

"It's 11:30 pm. There should be clocks everywhere-"

"BUT MARLUXIA TOOK THEM OUT OF THE BUDGET!" cried Vexen. "OH, WE HAVE TO KEEP A FOURTEEN YEAR OLD BOY FROM UNDERSTANDING WHEN NIGHT IS DAY AND NIGHT IS DAY. FUCK YOU, MARLUXIA, FUCK YOU TO HELL!"

Everyone was silent as Vexen composed himself. "Woah...you went a little crazy there," said Ichigo.

"Sorry, but I cannot deal with that prick. He disgusts me."

"Yes, but...many people feel that way about themselves," said Axel. "You should just jot down your anger on a journal, or a blog, or even websites...you know, like Fanfiction."

"Ok..." Vexen looked peeved.

"So, how do we proceed with Sora?" said Axel.

Zexion sat down, smiling. "We wait...and soon, we will regain our hearts."


	9. Odd System

Odd System

"So, they didn't figure out that you already knew about Sora..." Axel stared at Ichigo.

"So what?"

"Just saying, they thin they are so smart, and bam!"

"Their intelligence is not high on the bar as they think it is..." Multiple petals show up. A shocked Ichigo turned and saw a smiling Marluxia.

"What made you guys think that I care what you do in the night?"

"You did act like that," muttered Axel.

"Well, whatever. Sora will appear here within a few hours. All I need you guys to do is to sit back and watch the show..."

Axel and Ichigo decided to go to where Namine is, seeing a magical sphere in the middle of the room.

"We can see what will happen," said Axel. "Marluxia is going to 'take' all of his abilities, making him weak."

"Then, how do we do the experiments?" asked Ichigo.

"Well, unfortunately for us, there is a battle system in this castle. It relies on...cards."

"Excuse me?"

Axel smiled, holding up a card. Suddenly, his weapons appeared, and he was swinging them towards Ichigo. Ichigo dodged them, surprised.

"Time for practice!" Axel charged at Ichigo. The soul reaper saw a card number appear above his head, labeled seven. Again, Ichigo dodged, but this time, he tried to counterattack with his sword, only to feel unable to attack.

"As you can tell, you can't attack me. In this castle, we need cards to battle. There are ranges from zero to nine for all three card types as of the following: attack, magic, and items. There are also heartless cards, which give you special abilities."

"So, is it fair to attack a defenseless guy like me?" asked Ichigo.

"Actually, you do have cards. You just have to focus..."

Ichigo took Axel's advice, suddenly feeling like he could attack. A voice in his head prompted him to wait for Axel to make his move. Axel, however, was more interested in explaining one more thing.

"There is one more thing that you should know. You can created sleights, when you combine three cards to unleash techniques and combos. Other than that...let's go!"

Axel tried to hit Ichigo, but he was countered by Ichigo's combos. Ichigo began to learn things about this system. One player has to have more points than the other player to counter. Using sleights took the first card of the combo, and the card zero breaks the combo of the player.

Axel decided to stop, pointing at the sphere. "Here he comes!"

Ichigo looked at the sphere and was shocked. He saw a boy accompanied by a duck and a dog-like man. The boy, whom he presumed to be Sora, had spiky brown hair, blue eyes, and the biggest shoes. "Wow."

"Surprising, right? Yet, this guy did manage to survive fighting our leader."

"He did what?!" Ichigo looked again at the boy. "Ohhhh...he must be strong, or something."

"Definitely strong." Namine spoke softly. "His heart is strong with light."

"Well, this is going to be interesting," said Axel, laughing while Namine and Ichigo watched quietly.


	10. The encounter

The encounter

Ichigo saw right away that the boy was radiating light. His energy was incredible, but not on his level. There was something else about him that seemed...carefree. He saw Marluxia talk to Sora, telling him the phrase that somehow got ingrained in his brain.

_"In this castle, what you lost will be regained, but you will lose your memories."_

"So, is he going to just travel up...?" asked Ichigo.

"No," said Axel, "In every floor, there is a world behind a door. He has to complete that world to proceed to the next floor."

"And he loses a bit of his memories on each floor!" exclaimed Ichigo.

"Yes." Axel, uncomfortable, looks to the ground. "Then, he will become our pawn."

Ichigo looked at Axel, noticing his uncomfortableness. "Are you alright?"

"Yes...I would be..." Axel looked up at the glass orb. Sora appears to have followed Marluxia into the first world. "I wanted to test that twerp out, but-"

"Why not do it after he finishes a level?" asked Ichigo.

Axel lightened up a bit, smiling as he pondered over Ichigo's question. "Well, why not? Let's go!"

"Wha-" Before Ichigo can say anything else, Axel dragged him into a dark portal. Ichigo closed his eyes until he realized that he was in another place. He saw the door ahead of him.

"Sora will come from there. Get ready!"

Sure enough, Sora, Donald, and Goofy appeared, looking worried.

"So...that world was from my memories?" asked Sora.

To Ichigo's surprise, a cricket appeared on Sora's shoulder. "It seems so. I mean, why else would they not remember us?"

"Bingo!" said Axel. Sora and his friends gasped.

"Another one of those creep?!" exclaimed Donald.

"There's two of them, Donald," said Goofy.

"Well, they're still creeps! They have that hood on-!"

Ichigo realized that he had his hood on, and so did Axel. In a second, Axel took off his hood. "Axel's the name. Got it memorized?"

"Oh, Axel..." Marluxia appeared behind Axel. "If you wanted to test out the keyblade wielder..."

"I should have asked, right?" said Axel. "Well, I'm so _sorry_. But then again, I don't want Sora to die before he even reaches the second floor."

"Who says that I'm gonna lose to you?!" roared Sora.

"Well, he is just a boy...so sure." Marluxia handed Axel a card. "That's the next several worlds. Make sure he gets it after battling you."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it..." Marluxia teleported away, leaving Ichigo and Axel against the three heroes.

"So, who goes first? The silent one, or the red head?" asked Donald.

"Hey, you!" Sora yelled at Ichigo. "Who are you?!"

Ichigo took off his hood. "Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Well, whoever you are, I'll fight you!"

"Aw, come on!" cried Axel. "You skipped me!"

Sora rushed at Ichigo, with an eight appearing above his head. Smiling, Ichigo pulled a zero and negated his attack.

"Owww!" cried Sora. "Don't tell me that you have all zeroes!"

"Well...you do have potential after all," said Ichigo. "Show me a sleight or two."

"Haaa!" Sora had several numbers appear in his head. He tried to reach Ichigo, but he floated away from Sora's attack.

"Alright, you pass."

Sora stopped midway through an attack. "What?!"

"What he is saying is that you have enough skill to pass on to the next floor," said Axel. "Catch!"

He tossed the card to Sora. "Here's the passageway to the next worlds. Remember...to lose is to find, and to find is to lose."

"What?!" said Sora. "What random things are you saying?"

"You'll find out soon..." said Ichigo. They left the place by teleporting, leaving Sora confused.


	11. Don't be Sad

Don't be Sad

"You go too gently with you opponents," said Axel.

"Well, I didn't want him to die against me," said Ichigo. "Jeez, are you so concerned about me going serious against my opponents?"

"Well, whatever. We can just watch him go through the worlds." Axel sat down on a couch and munched on some chips.

Ichigo sat down next to Namine. "So, how are you doing?"

"Ummm...good," said Namine.

"Oh, Ichigo is picking up the chicks!" crowed Axel.

Ichigo threw a beer at Axel, knocking him to the ground. "Owww..."

"Anyways, what are you drawing?"

"Sora's memories," said Namine. "As I draw them, Sora's heart is altered from his memories. Eventually, he will forget about his past life."

"Are you...putting yourself inside of his memories?"

"Yes...as a witch, that is what I have to do." Namine started to cry.

"Wait, don't put yourself down like that...funny face!" Ichigo made his smiling face look funny. Namine started to laugh as Ichigo did funny things with his face.

"Look, I'm Axel, got it memorized?!" Ichigo imitated Axel, his eyes sparkling as he spoke.

"Don't mock me, you turd!" Axel stood up, angry. Namine kept laughing, then stopped.

"Thank you for making me feel better, Ichigo." Namine smiled.

"Don't be. You don't deserve to be sad, you know?"

"Umm, guys..." Axel pointed to the huge orb. Sora was in a desert, fighting many beings with masks on their faces.

"What?!" cried Namine. "What are those things?"

"Whatever they are, they aren't a part of his memories!" said Axel. "Ichigo, you and I have to go to the world right now!"

Axel opened up the portal. Ichigo and Axel ran into the portal, vanishing into the darkness.


	12. Hidden Dangers

Hidden Dangers

Axel and Ichigo reached their destination. They landed in a jungle, filled with heartless walking around.

"Why are they just standing there?" pondered Ichigo.

"I don't know..." Axel stared to the place where Sora and his friends were fighting the masked beings. "Want to ask them?"

Sora was pushed back. "OWWW! You cheaters!"

"We don't need to play by the rules," remarked the masked being. "Now then, keyblade wielder-"

Axel hit his chakrams on one of the masked beings. It shrieked, and it burned to the ground. "You are gonna go down, masked dudes!" said Axel.

Ichigo was unsure of what will happen, but he raised his blades up, pointing it at the masked beings. "Are you all ready to die?" said Ichigo.

"Wha - it's a -" The being was attacked by Axel before it could finish the thought. Ichigo got alarmed at what it said.

"What?"

"Ignore it!" Axel wiped the field from the masked beasts, leaving nothing but ashes. Sora and his friends looked in awe at the duo.

"What are you guys doing here?" said Donald. "You made us fight these...things!"

"Just look into your memories," said Axel, "and you will see that this was a part of your past."

Axel opened up the portal, and Ichigo and Axel disappeared. They resurfaced next to Namine.

"Why did you tell them that?" asked Ichigo.

"I would rather have them think that those things are from their past then tell them the truth," said Axel. "Tell me Ichigo, would you compromise the mission just to tell them a small, inconceivable thing?"

"You wish," said Ichigo. "Besides, we are not the ones who would reveal the news. Those masked beings would have done that."

"They came from within the castle," muttered Namine.

"What?" Axel and Ichigo looked at each other in uncertainty.

"It seems that the castle is manifesting things from the memories of everyone at random. It's out of my control." Namine looked at the ball that showed Sora and the others following the storyline of that world.

"Well, we can just take care of it the next time the castle does that again," said Axel.

"But whose memory conjured that?" asked Ichigo. "Could it be someone's missing memory?"

"What?!" exclaimed Axel.

"Think about it. Apparently, nobodies do not have their previous memories, so maybe...the castle has it."

Axel thought about it, and then laughed. "You crack me up!" said Axel. "I mean, that totally makes sense!"

"Does anything else make sense?!" cried Ichigo. Namine laughed with Axel too.

"Why are you all laughing?!"

Eventually, the laughter stopped, and Axel said, "Alright, let's stop. Now, we just sit here and relaxxxx..."

But Ichigo couldn't rest. He had a nagging suspicion that Axel is either lying or that he himself did not know yet. What would have that masked being said? Why was it that he was even at this castle to begin with? So many things did not add up.

Ichigo just sat down, but those thoughts did not leave him. His heart was thrown into doubt, and Ichigo did not doubt that once he tries to ease his confusion, everything will change.

* * *

Hey guys! I am Ultimater990. This is kinda my first interaction with my viewers here on this story. I want to tell you that due to my schedule, I cannot release a story within every week or so. I already took a long time, and it truly sucks because I wanted this story to reach its maximum potential. Hopefully I can reach fifty chapters for this story, although that might likely be just a first arc if things go well enough. I hope you enjoy reading, and please comment if you want to!


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